Members of the Izz ad Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamass military wing, take part in a ceremony, on December 18, 2016, in Gaza City in the memory of one of their leaders, Mohamed Zaouari, who was murdered in Tunisia. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on February 10, 2016. (Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL)

View of Amigous Craft Beer which bottle shows an image of US President Donald Trump wearing a Mariachi costume with a swastika, in Mexico City, on June 15, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / Bernardo Montoya)

Security around Damascus Gate to increase following attack

Following a deadly stabbing attack on Friday, Israeli political and police officials initiated a plan to expand security enforcement around the Old City of Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, police say.

Friday’s attack, in which 23-year-old border guard Hadas Malka was stabbed to death, was only the most recent at the Damascus Gate, which has seen dozens of stabbings and shootings over the past two years.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he was considering turning the Damascus Gate area into a “sterile area,” but declined to elaborate on what that would mean.

A police official says the discussions on if or how the security procedures around the Old City entrance would change were being held with “consultation from high-level political leadership.”

“A proposal was made, and the topic is still in the stages of study and discussion,” the spokesperson says.

“It’s still too early to establish [the plan] and make pronouncements,” she adds.

Portugal says forest fires death toll climbs to 57

Raging forest fires in central Portugal kill at least 57 people, most of whom burnt to death in their cars, and injured scores of others, the government says.

Nearly 600 firefighters and 160 vehicles were dispatched late last night to tackle the blaze, which broke out in the afternoon in the municipality of Pedrogao Grande, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Coimbra, before spreading fast across several fronts.

Portugal was sweltering under a severe heatwave across the weekend, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several regions.

Some 60 forest fires broke out across the country during the night, with around 1,700 firefighters battling to put them out.

The European Union says it would provide firefighting planes following a request from Lisbon.

Iran, China hold joint naval drill in Persian Gulf

Iran’s navy is conducting a joint exercise with a Chinese fleet near the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.

The official IRNA news agency says the drill includes an Iranian warship as well as two Chinese warships, a logistics ship and a Chinese helicopter that arrived in Iran’s port of Bandar Abbas last week.

It says the scheduled exercise came before the departure of the Chinese fleet for Muscat, Oman. It did not provide further details.

The US navy held a joint drill with Qatar in the Persian Gulf on Saturday.

US and Iranian warships have had a number of tense encounters in the Persian Gulf in recent years. Nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Netanyahu ‘doesn’t recall’ approval of Qalqilya expansion plan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly says he does not remember a cabinet decision made last year that would allow the Palestinian Authority to expand the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank.

After right-wing ministers denounced the scheme and claimed it had not been reviewed properly by the cabinet, Netanyahu announced earlier today that the plan would be revisited by ministers at a later date.

“I don’t recall a cabinet decision that was made regarding the expansion of Qalqilya,” he says at the weekly cabinet meeting according to Channel 2.

The plan would see 14,000 new apartments built in the Israeli-controlled Area C surrounding the city, potentially more than doubling the city’s population, from 50,000 to 110,000.

Last week, Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying the Qalqilya expansion plan was “presented by the defense minister last year and approved by the cabinet.”

Trump again slams Russia investigation as ‘witch hunt’

US President Donald Trump begins his day with a stream of tweets defending his record and lashing out at the investigation into Russian interference in the election.

In a two-part tweet posted early this morning, Trump writes: “The MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN agenda is doing very well despite the distraction of the Witch Hunt.”

He continues by saying: “Many new jobs, high business enthusiasm …massive regulation cuts, 36 new legislative bills signed, great new S.C.Justice, and Infrastructure, Healthcare and Tax Cuts in works!”

The MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN agenda is doing very well despite the distraction of the Witch Hunt. Many new jobs, high business enthusiasm,..

Education Minister Naftali Bennett submits legislation that would require a special two-thirds Knesset majority on any decision to divide Jerusalem under a future peace deal with the Palestinians to the Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation for approval.

Bennett, who leads the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, wants to amend the Basic Law on Jerusalem so that votes to divide the city will require the approval of 80 of the 120 MKs to pass, as opposed to a regular majority.

“The purpose of this law is to unify Jerusalem forever,” Bennett says of his legislation in a statement. “Reaching a majority of 80 MKs in order to divide Jerusalem is impossible and has no feasibility in the Knesset, which is why this law is so important.”

Parole board to rule on ex-PM Olmert’s early release next week

A parole board says it will announce next Thursday, June 29, whether it will grant the early release of jailed former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

Olmert, who is serving a 27-month sentence for various corruption convictions, is seeking to have a third of his sentence cut off.

The announcement comes days after the State Prosecutor’s Office asked police to open a criminal investigation into Olmert over his alleged divulging of sensitive information in the memoirs he is writing.

“The important thing was to make this product together and show that the president of the United States is wrong, that what he’s saying is wrong,” said Jose Fernando Rincon, head of Mexican brewery Error de Diciembre.

“It doesn’t matter what he says, friends will be friends, no matter if there’s a wall between them.”

The beer has been a success in Mexico: the first run of 1,200 bottles and 400 liters’ worth of kegs sold out in three days on demand from specialty stores and Mexico City bars.

Trump lawyer says president not under investigation

A member of President Donald Trump’s outside legal team says the US president is not under investigation, contradicting a recent tweet from Trump.

Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” attorney Jay Sekulow says the “president is not under investigation by the special counsel.” He says Trump’s statement on Twitter Friday was specifically in response to a story in The Washington Post about the expanding probe into Russia’s election meddling.

After Trump has said he's under investigation, Trump's lawyer now says "the president is not under investigation." pic.twitter.com/JMvTzZOCso

The president wrote on Twitter: “I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt.” The message apparently referred to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general whose role leading the federal investigation has become increasingly complicated.

UK official says paneling on Grenfell Tower violated building codes

Britain’s trade minister says the exterior paneling used on the exterior of the London high-rise, in which dozens were killed in a fire, appears to have violated building rules.

Greg Hands tells Sky News that “my understanding is that the cladding that was reported was not in accordance with UK building regulations. We need to find out precisely what cladding was used and how it was attached.”

Experts say the cladding and the insulation it contained seems to have spread the flames quickly along the exterior of the building, overwhelming safety devices like fire doors.

Hands cautions that investigators still don’t know exactly what cladding was used when the building renovation was completed last year. The building was gutted by a fast-moving fire early Wednesday, claiming at least 58 lives.

Ministers join PM in denying knowledge of Qalqilya expansion plan

Cabinet ministers Gilad Erdan and Yisrael Katz join Netanyahu in denying the cabinet had last year decided to allow the Palestinian Authority to expand the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank.

“The Qalqilya plan was never presented,” Katz tells Army Radio. “I never approved it or even voted for it.”

“I don’t understand who gave the Civil Administration the authority to approve such a large-scale building plan,” Erdan tells the radio station in an earlier interview.

The plan would see 14,000 new apartments built in the Israeli-controlled Area C surrounding the city, potentially more than doubling the city’s population, from 50,000 to 110,000.

After right-wing ministers denounced the scheme and claimed it had not been reviewed properly by the cabinet, Netanyahu announced earlier today that the plan would be revisited by ministers at a later date.

“I don’t recall a cabinet decision that was made regarding the expansion of Qalqilya,” he said at the weekly cabinet meeting according to Channel 2.

Last week, Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying the Qalqilya expansion plan was “presented by the defense minister last year and approved by the cabinet.”

Hamas neither wants nor expects another war with Israel

The Hamas terrorist organization which rules the Gaza Strip reportedly says it neither wants nor expects another war with Israel, and that Israel is similarly disinterested in another conflict with the Palestinian group.

“We in Hamas do not initiate wars and we do not expect one, this is our political assessment,” Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s deputy leader tells reporters in Gaza according to Reuters.

“We do not expect war because we are not interested and the occupation also say they are not interested,” he says, referring to Israel.

Hayya also says the group is working together with Egypt to secure its borders.

“Securing borders is a joint interest. We are keen and we have the determination and the ability to prevent any harm to reach out for Egypt from Gaza,” he adds.

Attack under way at tourist camp in Mali capital

A tourist camp popular with Westerners in the Malian capital is under attack, according to witnesses and an AFP journalist.

Malian troops and soldiers from France’s Bakhane counterterrorist force are heading to the site on the edge of Bamako, where nearby residents reported hearing shots fired while smoke billowed into the air.

Justice ministry: Non-Olmert material seized in publisher raid will be returned

The Justice Ministry says it will disregard any information seized from the Yedioth Ahronoth publishing house that is not related to jailed former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

When police raided the Rishon Lezion publisher and confiscated pages from Olmert’s memoirs earlier today, they also reportedly grabbed material from two other manuscripts, one by former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon and a biography about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“In contrast to reports, no material will be reviewed that is not related to Olmert’s book,” the statement says. “No one will examine it or make any use of it.”

The justice ministry says “all remaining materials will be returned and no copy will be kept by police.”

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Education Minister Naftali Bennett submits legislation that would require a special two-thirds Knesset majority on any decision to divide Jerusalem under a future peace deal with the Palestinians to the Knesset’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation for approval.

Bennett, who leads the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, wants to amend the Basic Law on Jerusalem so that votes to divide the city will require the approval of 80 of the 120 MKs to pass, as opposed to a regular majority.

“The purpose of this law is to unify Jerusalem forever,” Bennett says of his legislation in a statement. “Reaching a majority of 80 MKs in order to divide Jerusalem is impossible and has no feasibility in the Knesset, which is why this law is so important.”